Book storage is an issue in our house. We have a lot of books are not many places to put them. And I shouldn't be complaining because ...

Where We Read

Monday, June 19, 2017 BookBairn 6 Comments

Book storage is an issue in our house. We have a lot of books are not many places to put them. And I shouldn't be complaining because we are very lucky to be sent lots of lovely books from publishers, authors and illustrators but I also have a bookbuying habit of my own. "My name is Kim and I'm a book hoarder." Though I prefer to be called a book collector.

And I don't keep them all. That would be completely impractical. In the past we have swapped books with friends both in person and using social media and in February we even did a book treasure hunt around our local town to re-home some of excess books. We cannot keep them all. (On a side note we have another big bag of books waiting to be re-homed so if you have any ideas I would love to hear them!)

But still, we have so many that I can't bear to part with. I have a box in the office marked 'for BookBairn to grow into'. Like clothes which are too big for her, some stories are 'too big' and she needs a little time to grow into them. I have a bag to 'rehome'. We have a shelf of 'review' books. We have our 'Favourites Shelf'. But BookBairn's book cupboard was overflowing.

So when we decided to redecorate her bedroom so that she could share with her brother (it was pink and now it has a lovely jungle theme), I took advantage of the opportunity to sort our books. And buy new furniture. Obviously the Favourites Shelf is central to our bedtime routine and its such a nice way to display our books that I wasn't going to part with it. So the rest of the room had to fit around it. We got a new sofa for telling our stories on and BookBairn was excited to help Daddy 'build' it by screwing in the legs. It's now dubbed the 'beautiful chair' and she likes to show it off to people when they come to play. I also already had a really good storage box in their room which has all the books front-facing so that little readers can choose easily.

So the real question was what to do about the reading cupboard in the living room? I had already decided that we needed to move the dollshouse as BookBairn plays with it a lot and under the stairs she couldn't really reach inside easily and I couldn't watch her playing which I love to do. She had also been pushing her luck by climbing on to the fireplace so the dollshouse now sits there (we have stopped using our woodburner since she could crawl). So that left a big space under the stairs to create a reading neuk. I have called it a 'neuk' as it's the Scots word for nook/corner which seems appropriate (friends of ours will also know that it's totally appropriate to call it a neuk given the name of our house). And then I couldn't resist this staggered bookshelf to display our books. I currently have the organised as a 'rainbow' with similar shades together. But I'll be honest it means I've had to separate series of books which I don't like and I think BookBairn likes it when she can find the books which are the same series together (she often takes one for herself and then delegates one for me to read). So I don't think that will last. But it looks pretty for these photos.

A few bookish friends have recently shared their own book nooks so if you are looking for inspiration check out:

Addison Reads - Sam has written a great blog post about all the elements of reading spaces that she loves and wants to create for her little reader, Addison. She also has great inspiration about creating an 'Intentional Bookshelf' for your children and I'm reading her book at the moment. Click here to find her post.

Book Nerd Mommy - Clarissa's book nook is just fabulous! What a gorgeous set of Favourites Shelves and a great teepee to cuddle inside to read. She also has another post with the most beautiful canopy and cushion reading zone. Click here to find her post.

How do you store your books? And where do you like to read? We can usually be found reading all over our house. The books don't stay on the shelves very long! We would love to hear from you about your book nooks, so please share your comments below. Or find us on our social media (links at the top of the page) and tag us in your pictures.


Anyway, I'm off to sit on the 'beautiful chair' to read a bedtime story!
Happy reading!
Mummy, BookBairn and The Wee Page Turner xxx


6 comments:

  1. I like the name of "the beautiful chair" and look forward to sharing some stories on it with BookBairn and the Wee Page Turner. Our books are kept in GMaBookBain's library (converted from our garage) but are read all over the house.

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    1. You will love it! So beautiful and comfy! And just wait until you see the new canvas!

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  2. Hey Papa BookBairn - I want a teepee too! I love that. Currently thinking about bringing back a trio of invisible book shelves from States so I can have a few random piles of books jutting out of walls for you to bump your head off! Seriously, think of the trad 3 ducks up the wall, except books....

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    1. An excuse to buy all the beautiful books to display! I want a teepee too!

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  3. I just love your reading neuk! Thanks for sharing the links to other reading spaces too, such gorgeous ideas! #readwithme

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    1. I'm thinking I need a Pinterest board of gorgeous kids reading spaces!

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